Prof. Nadezhda Yashina, Head of the Department of Finance & Credit at Lobachevsky University, and Deputy Head of the department, Associate Professor Maria Ginzburg, took part in the 73rd Annual Midwest Political Science Association Conference, held in Chicago from April 16 to 19.

They unveiled the results of 2-year joint research, conducted with Dr. Dmitri Mitin from North Carolina State University, the USA, in a joint report entitled “Does Nationalism Distort the Perception of Political Risks?: A Study of Russia’s Local Businesses.” The study establishes a baseline for assessing the influence of political uncertainty on economic calculus under ‘normal’ conditions and amid international tensions (such as the annexation of Crimea, violence in Eastern Ukraine, and economic sanctions imposed on Russia) to estimate a shift in the sensitivity to corruption, political stability, and foreign developments.

The report says: “Regardless of such pessimistic assessment, 66% percent of February 2015 participants expressed interest in expanding business (compared to 74% a year earlier). Other answers suggest that the business strategy adopted earlier in 2014 remains sticky and does not noticeably change in response to the gloomier outlook. That inconsistency presents an interesting puzzle.”(The full paper is available on MPSA Conference’s website)

This year’s Conference featured more than 80 sections in different areas of study. Many sections were interdisciplinary, thus providing a variety of perspectives.